We have all the answers to student success

Focus on progress not perfection. ~ Bill Phillip

Every year we talk about improving student success on our campuses. We have the research office bring up our trend data, disaggregate it into ever smaller bundles of students and make bold assertions about how we’ll make it all better. Then we call up the folks from the learning center where we hear all about our great tutoring programs, supplemental instruction and our fabulous learning communities. We pat ourselves on the back and just know we’re going to make great progress this year.

The advantage or perhaps just the reality of being an old dog in education is that I’ve been doing this long enough to see all the cycles repeat time and time again. One year we focus on learning communities, another year it’s guided pathways or whatever it’s being called this time around, this year (2023) it seems to be apprenticeship that will fix all of our ills. And while you might see some small movement in success rates over time, they generally stay relatively stable. Sometimes it’s really exciting and you do something that gets a big spike and then a couple of years later it goes away when the architect of the plan moves on or moves up, usually because we failed to institutionalize the program’s resources and depended far too much on a single champion.

We do this time after time and every few years we come up with a new name, a new angle to look at student success and off we go. The new name gets popular, new companies and consultants spring up to charge campuses lots of money, state agencies and legislatures drop a bunch of grant opportunities. We start programs, spend all the money and then a few years later we start all over under a new name. Cynical, you betcha!

I’m a big fan of the work of Vincent Tinto, since the 1970s and particularly into the early 1990’s, Tinto put forward research related to how important support and engagement are to student success and retention. To very over simplify what he had to say, give students the type of supports they need, make them feel apart of the campus community (belonging/integration) and give them really good advice about how to choose courses to create an effective pathway to the next step. And you’re nodding because, duh, we all know this. The next couple of paragraphs go deeper into Tinto’s work.

Vincent Tinto’s theories and work have greatly contributed to our understanding of the foundations of student success in higher education. Tinto’s research primarily revolves around the concept of student persistence and the factors that influence students’ ability to persist and succeed in their academic endeavors. His work has highlighted the importance of both institutional and individual factors in shaping students’ experiences and outcomes. Here, I’ll provide a detailed summary of the foundations of student success based on Tinto’s theories:

1. Integration and Involvement: Tinto’s central idea is that student persistence and success are strongly linked to their level of integration and involvement within the academic institution. He introduced the concept of “integration,” which refers to the extent to which students feel connected to their institution, peers, faculty, and academic activities. The more integrated students are, the more likely they are to persist and succeed. This integration can be academic, social, and personal.
2. Academic and Social Integration: Academic integration involves a student’s engagement with the learning process, including interactions with faculty, participation in class discussions, and utilization of academic resources. Social integration, on the other hand, pertains to a student’s sense of belonging within the campus community, forming friendships, participating in extracurricular activities, and feeling comfortable in the institution’s culture.
3. Institutional Commitment: Tinto emphasized the role of institutional commitment in student success. Institutions that actively support their students’ integration, both academically and socially, contribute to higher levels of student persistence. Adequate academic advising, mentoring programs, and support services are crucial in fostering this commitment.
4. Sense of Belonging: A key factor in student success, according to Tinto’s work, is the development of a sense of belonging. When students feel that they are part of a supportive community, they are more likely to remain engaged and committed to their studies. This sense of belonging reduces feelings of isolation and increases the likelihood of seeking help when needed.
5. Transition Periods: Tinto highlighted the significance of transition periods, such as the initial stages of enrollment, as critical junctures for student success. These periods often present challenges as students adapt to new academic, social, and personal environments. Institutions that provide targeted support during these transitions can mitigate the negative effects and improve students’ chances of persisting.
6. High Expectations and Challenging Environment: Tinto believed that a challenging academic environment, coupled with high expectations for student performance, can positively influence student success. When students are intellectually engaged and perceive their coursework as meaningful and relevant, they are more likely to stay motivated and committed.
7. Holistic Support: Tinto’s work underscores the importance of a holistic support system. This includes academic advising, mentoring, tutoring, counseling services, and other resources aimed at addressing the diverse needs of students. Such support helps students navigate challenges, make informed decisions, and stay on track academically.
8. Early Warning Systems: Tinto’s theories have also contributed to the development of early warning systems. These systems identify students who might be at risk of academic or social difficulties and enable institutions to intervene proactively. By addressing challenges early, institutions can prevent students from disengaging and increase their chances of success.

In summary, Vincent Tinto’s theories emphasize the significance of creating an inclusive and supportive environment that fosters student integration, engagement, and persistence. By understanding and implementing the foundations of student success outlined in Tinto’s work, institutions can effectively support their students on their academic journey, ultimately contributing to higher graduation rates and improved learning outcomes.

We all know this, every one of our campuses has programs that provide these types of supports. So why aren’t we seeing massive improvements in success and retention since this research has occurred at a minimum, 30 years ago? I’ll put forth that it comes down to two things, resources and will.

We know that every class would benefit from a supplemental instruction model or at a minimum the use of embedded tutors. But to implement the full University of Missouri at Kansas City Supplemental Instruction Model (SI) would cost an additional three-thousands dollars per section. Yet we know that this model, when applied fully and appropriately with faculty support, absolutely increases course success rates. I’ve personally seen this as MESA Director and a STEM Dean. I’ve seen Algebra I courses that typically had 60 – 70% success rates bounce up to success rates in the 80 – 90% range through the use of SI.

We know campus connection is incredibly important, every campus has learning communities, clubs and even programs (training) that get faculty and staff to create a caring campus. But do we get students into these programs? How do we direct and show them the benefit these programs can be? Why isn’t every student directed to these programs?

We know the absolute importance of solid information, advising for students to navigate both the complexity of college bureaucracy and the pathways to transfer, graduation or employment. I’ve seen a trend over the last 20 years of making sure students go through a rushed matriculation process and then not have required advising. Advising isn’t just for lost students, all students can benefit from having a guide to help them make the most of their education pathway.

Finally, for community college students, but not exclusively community college students, there are a lot of social and mental health issues that our students face. College campuses need to have ways to for students to access supports for housing, clothes, food and transportation. Mental health counseling and support needs to be available, de-stigmatized and there needs to be greater campus awareness of all of these supports.

It comes back to resources and will. All of these supports cost, but often multiple programs on campus provide the same kinds of supports. We need as campuses to be efficient with how these resources are provided. We need, like we do with out academic programs, to have clear expected outcomes for these programs, measure the outcomes and make changes in our offerings as appropriate. Academic supports cost money, learning communities cost money, training and inspiration for faculty and staff to create a caring campus environment costs money. And after over 35 years in education I’ll say that a good chunk of all of this funding already exists as waste on campus. We always seem to be able to come up with another couple of hundred thousand dollars for consultants for the hot ew thing. But more funds would be needed, we know this works and I believe grant and foundation funds could be found for this type of effort, if it is well coordinated and efficient.

But do we have the will? It would take lots of work, lots of coordination, a campus-wide, single minded effort to provide everything needed. You would think on campuses where we so often hear the phrase, students first, that finding this type of will would be easy, unfortunately it’s not. Too many people are focused on my program, my students, my success, focusing directly on the trees I control and not seeing that the forest is dying.

To go back to the quote at the top of the article, it’s about progress not perfection. While I would love the idea that a campus would move as one and provide the supports, remove the barriers and give great advice campus-wide, I’m not a fool. But can we build, year over year each of these pieces, institutionalize them and move on to the next? Wouldn’t we see success and retention increases as we added each piece? Yes it’s complex, but our campuses are filled with highly intelligent and well-educated people who purport to be doing this work to help students succeed. Surely we can find the will, and I believe if we have the will, we’ll find the funds.